I had a toothache that drove me to the dentist. It takes a lot to get me there. I don’t have my own dentist so I went to one who sees people in emergencies. He said my symptoms meant that I cracked a tooth. He crowned it right then which I appreciated. The pain did stop, but now the tooth next to it has turned gray. I don’t know why. Any advice?

Loriee

Dear Loriee,

If a tooth has turned gray, means the tooth is either dead or dying. There are a few reasons why this could happen. One of the most common reasons is an infected tooth. Another possibility is there was trauma to the tooth. You didn’t mention whether you recalled any injury which could have cracked your tooth.

If you did, then it’s possible you had trauma to both teeth, but there were no outward symptoms with the tooth which turned gray. Truthfully, this is the most likely scenario.

Another possibility is the dentist diagnosed and crowned the wrong tooth. The only real way to know this with certainty is to take the x-rays you had at your emergency dental appointment and get a second opinion from another dentist. If it was obvious, then you can get a refund on the crown you were already given in order to have the funds you need for the crown you should have received.

Finally, (and I’ll be the first to admit this is unlikely) you had the first tooth injured which is cracked. Then, at a later date, the second tooth was damaged elsewhere and now is showing symptoms. No matter which is the actual cause, the treatment for this is the same. You’ll need to get a root canal treatment and have that tooth crowned as well.

An Alternative to Treatment by Dental Emergency

It sounds like your dental anxiety is keeping you from getting regular dental care. This will keep you going from one emergency dental appointment to another. There is a way to get your dental care without the anxiety you normally feel.

Have you looked into seeing a sedation dentist? They can give you stress-free/pain-free appointments. The two most common types of dental sedation are nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation. Nitrous is mostly used for mild anxiety. If you have serious anxiety, you’ll want to look into oral conscious sedation. You can check out our sedation dentistry page to learn more.

My husband was in an accident which caused him to lose a tooth. He chose to replace it with a dental implant because he wanted the best replacement possible. He’s in a very public job and appearance is important. About a month after he had the implant done I started noticing his breathtaking a turn for the worse. He’s very diligent with his oral care so I thought maybe it was just a one-day thing, but it’s been a week and it’s getting steadily worse. Is this normal with dental implants or should I bring it up with him? I only want to bring it up if there’s something he can do about it. I don’t want to make him self-conscious.

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

You sound like a loving wife. I’m glad you noticed this about your husband’s breath because this is not a normal side-effect of getting dental implants.

If you are certain nothing has changed with his oral hygiene habits then he may be looking at the beginning of an infection. If it’s not dealt with quickly, he could be looking at dental implant failure and having to start completely over on the procedure.

You could start out by asking him how the implant has been feeling. This way you’re not bringing up his breath. He may mention that it feels weird or he has a bad taste in his mouth. In that case, you can tell him to see his implant dentist in order to have it looked at.

If there is an infection and he loses the implant, starting over will require an additional procedure of bone grafting to get it done. Make sure he stays on top of this.

Dental Implants and Teeth Whitening

I’m only mentioning this part because you said your husband has a very public job and his appearance is important. If he plans on whitening his teeth, make sure he does it before it is time to make his implant crown. That way, he can have the porcelain crown made to match is whiter teeth.

Once the crown is done, the color won’t change, not even with professional teeth whitening. He’s likely a very busy man with his job, so let him know with Zoom Whitening it can be done in just one appointment.